Plant-derived monoterpenes have various pharmacological applications, but the problem lies with their detection and estimation. Hence, it is crucial to develop a robust technique to overcome this problem. This work was aimed at developing a swift, accurate and reproducible technique for the simultaneous detection of three monoterpenes, namely, eugenol, eucalyptol (1,8- cineole), and R-limonene, using the high-performance thin-layer chromatography technique, as per International Council of Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. The best results were obtained in the eluent mixture prepared by using hexane: toluene: ethyl acetate (6:3:1, v/v/v), and silica gel-coated aluminum thin layer chromatography (TLC) plates 60F254 as a stationary phase that produced very sharp and well-resolved symmetrical peaks for eugenol, eucalyptol, and R-limonene at Rf values of 0.47 ± 0.03, 0.56 ± 0.03, and 0.71 ± 0.03, respectively. The linear range for eugenol, eucalyptol, and R-limonene was 1 to 15 ng/ spot (r2 = 0.9906), 100 to 600 ng/spot (r2 = 0.99625), 50 to 300 ng/spot (r2 = 0.9873), respectively. Furthermore, the limit of detection (LoD) and limit of quantitation (LoQ) values for eugenol were obtained at 0.0129 and 0.0391 ng/spot, followed by eucalyptol (0.82 and 2.48 ng/spot) and R-limonene (0.594 and 1.8 ng/spot), respectively. To our knowledge, we are the first to report a quick and reproducible high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) technique for the simultaneous determination of eugenol, eucalyptol (1,8-cineole), and R-limonene. This method can further be used for the quantification of these secondary metabolites in plant extracts, enriched fractions, and pharmaceutical formulations.
Read full abstract